My first planted tank - don't laugh!

[Eggheadfish]

Doing my best! I know it's a little dirty in there but that's because it's stagnant with no water flow. I'm ready to stock any day now so it won't be so grungy once the filter is going. Driftwood is fuzzing a little which doesn't help.
I'm really happy with the plants and the pictures don't do justice to how super green they look, even the bottom leaves of the bacopa were a little shaky for a few days but they bounced right back.
Very grateful for such hardy plantage! that just means you can trust me with more in the future right? Haha

 

[Fresh2o]

Of course. Will be better when the weather warms up.


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[brennae]

Looks great!

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[amyb_70]

Wow Egghead!! That looks fantastic. Feel free to share your secret. Lol. I can't seem to keep any plant alive. A real bummer, I know it would look better and my fish would be happier.


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[Eggheadfish]

Dudes! Some craziness going on in this tank.
My snail population is exploding even though I have no fish in there (and so, no food) Gazillions of babies.
And when I was looking in there, I see tons of little white fleas! Based on their body structure I think they're copepods but where the heck did they come from all of a sudden? They are way too tiny for me to get a pic of. They're round with a little tail and two antennae.
I keep plucking out the big snails and throwing them in the hex with the assassins. Maybe I'll take a trip to the LFS tomorrow

 

[brennae]

Yikes! My mom got scuds once in on her tanks. They looked like little shrimp. I think they came on some plants.

 

[fish wrangler]

They do sound like scuds now the more I think about it. Your fish should eat them

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[Eggheadfish]

It's just weird since I never saw them before, and I haven't added anything to the tank for a while. I stare at my tanks and mess around in them daily so you would think I would have seen them before now.
Anyway i know if they're copepods it's nothing to worry about it's just all new to me

 

[Brookster123]

A mature tank will def. Have some activity going on behind the scenes.. luckily most of the time it actually beneficial as they'll clean up lefties and the fish will eat them.. I've pulled up plants and released these little white worms (detritious maybe?) The fish snatched em up like spaghetti!

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[Fresh2o]

Here is a lineup of small crustaceans sometimes found in aquariums. From top to bottom: copepod, water flea/Daphnia, amphipod/Gammarus, and Seed shrimp/Ostracod

How the creatures move about will be helpful in identifying them as well. Crawling, hopping, rapid darting, etc.


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[Eggheadfish]

Brookster - that's the thing, I've barely had this set up for a few weeks and it only has plants so the explosion of life seemed oddly timed. I have "spaghetti" in my 55, if I see them I skip feeding and let them get snacked on.
Fresh - these things are super small, but they definitely look like copepods to me, they're white and they hop around on the glass or swim in short bursts in the water.

 

[Eggheadfish]

Blaaaagh! I was all set to go get CPDs today and the LFS sold out. Fish selection around here is awful!!

 

[Brookster123]

What else would be in the tank with cpds? They're awesome little fish! Really do best in very specific settings though.

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[Eggheadfish]

I'm not sure yet, I seriously can't find anything I want. The weather and my schedule aren't really conducive to ordering online right now.
I was looking for some emerald eye or chili rasboras and definitely some ghost shrimp and habrosas. The LFS about an hour from me said they can probably get some blue eyes (yeah right) but I don't really have my heart set on them since they're not cheap considering their lifespan.
I'll fill the tank with CPDs that won't bother me a bit

 

[Fresh2o]

Hasbrosus Pygmy cories would keep with the nano theme IMO. Saw them for the first time up close at an LFS last week and they are tiny.


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[Brookster123]

Cpds, habrosus and shrimp will be a very entertaining tank!

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[Eggheadfish]

If I ever get them then I hope so! Big fish auction coming up so I have my fingers crossed.
I have one more place to check for CPDs today so wish me luck.
I lost two fish this week so I need some positive direction. Big old Benedict (male SD) almost had his algae wafer stolen by his lady friend so he went slam crashing through the tank and obliterated two smaller cories by whacking them into the glass/sand. One was the little guy who finally had his fungus cleared up and went back into the tank. Sigh.
Ps David I'm going to post some more plant pics later. I added a second hood light with a higher K cfl because the left side wasn't getting as much light and these plants are coloring up like crazy.

 

[TheresaM]

Just stumbled on this thread....your tank looks great! I'm definitely a beginner with plants as well.

As far as the fish I have a 16g with lots of CPDs and a group of pygmy cories; going to add a few otos sometime soon.

Looking forward to more updates on your tank

 

[Fresh2o]

Egg - Glad the plants are doing well. The Ammania is growing sooooo slowly in the shrimp tank. Sorry about the cories. Those SDs sound like giant plant eating brutes.
Theresa - Otos are a nice add. Like nano versions of plecos. Oddly, they will be the larger members of the group.


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[TheresaM]

Theresa - Otos are a nice add. Like nano versions of plecos. Oddly, they will be the larger members of the group.

I thought the same thing! Actually considered a plec but thought it would end up looking like a giant sea monster amongst the nano fish.